Legal Question in Immigration Law in New York

I am a Greek citizen and I am planning on starting an importing

business in NYC. There is only a E1 treaty between Greece and the USA, so I applied for an E1 trader visa through the American embassy in Greece.

The documents I submitted, together with the requires applications, were:

- Professional resume

- Detailed business plan

- Proof of existence of LLC from the Department of State (the company is still inactive)

- Proof of funds / personal bank accounts (up to $100K)

- Proof of company bank account

- Applicant's diplomas (bachelor, MBA in the US)

- Passport, SSN etc

I had researched the possibility of getting a non-immigrant E1 trader visa and found out that if I

applied through the USCIS, I would stand no chances since my company was still inactive. However, I knew that the embassy does issue E1 visas to inactive startups and that was confirmed by the consul.

The result was that they neither rejected, nor did they approve my application, but advised me to resubmit it through a lawyer this time, because there were certain documents missing. They never disclosed what those documents might be. All the lawyers I have contacted in Greece so far are scratching their heads as to why they might have asked for something like that. It is

supposed to be a very simple task, even though my case is kind of special. They also wonder what kind of other documents they might require, yet they are so secretive about it.

Thank you for your time. If you think there is anything that you know

that can be done in regards with my case, I would appreciate to hear

about it.

Looking forward to any kind of input.


Asked on 9/25/10, 1:23 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Luba Smal Smal Immigration Law Office

You need to consult or retain a US immigration lawyer, not a Greek lawyer, for assistance with your application. Have a lawyer to review a copy of your visa application package. It's not clear from your post what happened to your application: were you allowed to withdraw it? Hod did that happen? This is unusual. It seems that in consul's opinion some crucial initial documents were missing from your application or it was not approvable -- and this could be the reason why you were advised to get a lawyer, instead of a simple denial.

If you�d like to schedule a telephone or email legal consultation, need legal advice or help, please let me know and I�d be glad to help you. I am an immigration attorney and offer confidential consultations and legal help in matters of the U.S.A. federal immigration law to clients from all 50 States and internationally. Please email your inquiries at [email protected] and I�ll send you a Questionnaire. Office Telephone line is 1-402-210-2040 (please EMAIL first to schedule a consultation appointment with an attorney).

Note: The above response is provided for legal information purposes only and should not be considered a legal advice; it doesn�t create an attorney-client relationship. For more information or to schedule a consultation, please visit http://www.law-visa-usa.com/contact_us.html

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Answered on 9/30/10, 6:49 am


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